1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of plant containers, and more particularly it concerns an improved means in a plant container for dividing the roots of a plant into clumps or clusters while growing in the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,015 entitled "ROOT SEPARATING MEANS FOR PLANT CONTAINER", I have disclosed a device for promoting plant growth by means of a root separator adapted for disposition as an insert inside a plant container having a peripheral wall. Alternatively the root separator can be molded in place in the container at the time of manufacture. The root separator has outwardly extending apertured walls terminating at the peripheral wall of the container and defining therewith a plurality of compartments into which the root system of the plant can grow to form a plurality of root clusters. The root clusters can be spread apart radially after the plant is removed from the container for transplanting.
This device has proven generally successful in practice, but several difficulties have been encountered in its usage. In the first place, it is often required to transplant into a plant container a plant which has grown elsewhere and has developed a large, compact root ball or a plant which has been grown in a deep liner pot. It is very difficult to fit such a ball into a tapered plant container, because the ball rolls around and is not stable. If the ball is forced into a tapered pot which can hold the root ball snugly, the space is insufficient for proper root growth and the roots will grow into a tight tangled mass and when planted outdoors will have what is commonly known as an interface problem. The roots also cannot be watered, nourished and aerated properly. The transplant pot must necessarily be larger than the root ball. Bare root plants cannot be placed in the pot quickly and assume a stable position. When hundreds or thousands of plants are to be transplanted as is common in the plant nursery industry, the transplanting operations becomes very time consuming, laborious and inefficient.